Human Rights Commission
Media release

17 February, 2008

First monitoring report on places of detention released

The first annual report by the five organisations responsible for monitoring places of detention in New Zealand under the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) has been tabled in Parliament.

The Ombudsmen, Children’s Commissioner, Independent Police Conduct Authority, Inspector of Service Penal Establishments and the Human Rights Commission assumed the new monitoring roles following New Zealand’s ratification of the United Nation’s Optional Protocol Against Torture treaty in March, 2007.

New Zealand’s international human rights obligations require the human rights of all people in detention to be protected with measures in place to prevent ill treatment.

The organisations termed National Preventive Mechanisms arrange to visit detention facilities regularly and work with detaining authorities to ensure that all places of detention are safe and humane environments that meet international standards.

The OPCAT monitoring system is an important innovation in the international human rights framework. It has added significance in the light of New Zealand’s high imprisonment rates – since the risks of human rights abuses are raised in environments where there is over-crowding, stretched resources and services, or where staff are overloaded.

Prisons are not the sole places of detention. The OPCAT responsibilities extend to all people deprived of their liberty – whether in prisons, police cells, military detention, immigration centres, health facilities, or child and youth residences.

The first annual report has identified challenging issues. Some key emerging issues have been highlighted:
- ensuring that all facilities are suitable for the purpose
- the need for adequate staffing levels, training and specialist staff
- the need for attention to the rights of particular groups such as children and young people, asylum seekers and disabled people.

There are also some resourcing issues to be addressed in order to fully implement the Optional Protocol effectively.

The first combined annual report of the five organisations has been presented to the Minister of Justice and will be submitted to the UN Subcommittee responsible for OPCAT.

ENDS

To download the report Monitoring places of detention, visit www.hrc.co.nz